Jefferies maintained a Hold rating on PAREXEL International (NASDAQ: PRXL), and cut the price target to $67.00 (from $72.50), following the company's 1Q earnings report. EPS fell 10c below consensus and guidance midpoint. PRXL's revenue shortfall accounted for ~4c. Updated guidance reduces revenue by $20M. The 1Q miss was $25M alone. Guidance does add the ExecuPharm acquisition, and suggests that addition offsets the organic weakness over the balance of FY17.

Analyst David Windley commented, "PRXL has fumbled 3 of the last 4 FY 1Qs and 6 of the last 10. PRXL has struggled with slow study starts and resulting slowing backlog conversions for a couple of years, and heightened cancellations for ~5 quarters. These trends make a quick recovery and the revised guidance look optimistic. We expect PRXL to decline ~6-8% on Thursday."

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